Under the July Sun (23 page)

She didn't answer him, but stood up and silently put the baby in her cot then began clearing the dishes.'

Feeling exasperated, Louis went into the bedroom, dressed and left the house, thinking that perhaps she'd get it out of her system by the time he returned.

* * *

It was dark when Louis returned home and Cat had prepared boiled bacon and potatoes they had brought back with them from Ireland. She put the meal on the table and told Louis to sit and eat.

Sitting down opposite him she began cutting up her meat, glancing from time to time at Louis. She saw his drawn expression and dark circles under his eyes and thought he looked exhausted. Suddenly she felt ashamed of her outburst that morning.

‘Is the meal all right Louis?'

‘Yes, it's fine, thank you. The meat's nice isn't it?'

‘'Yes 'Tis.' She continued cutting her meat then looked across the table at him. ‘Louis?'

‘Yes?'

‘I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me this morning.'

Louis put down his knife and fork and looked at her gently. He realised she was worn out and this is what he had been afraid of, but he felt helpless. They could not afford help and having three children in quick succession had been too much for Cat. He understood that but felt he couldn't do much about it unless he was to earn a fortune and employ a nanny. Both things he knew were totally out of the question.

‘Cat, I know you are tired, but taking it out on me isn't going to help.'

‘I know. It's not just the tiredness.'

‘Then what is it?' he asked placing his hand on hers and giving it a squeeze.

‘I'm lonely.'

He pushed the plate aside. ‘Cat, tell me about it.'

‘It's just that I want to go home, Louis.' She bent her head as tears slid down her cheeks.

Louis withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes and feared the worst.

‘So that's what the outburst was really about last night?'

She didn't answer.

‘Cat, I'm asking you, is that what was behind last night's row?'

‘Louis, I don't know what to say. I feel isolated here. I hardly know anyone an' I've none of my family around me, and now Ellie's gone—'

She couldn't finish. The lump in her throat silenced her and Louis just stared at the floor, lost for words.

Louis left the house daily in search of work, but the queues at the Labour Exchange were depressingly long. There were always hundreds of men after so few jobs. Those prepared to take the lowest pay succeeded in being given work.

He was in the process of slipping out of the house one morning with his violin tucked under his arm when Cat questioned him about this. He brushed it off, saying he was hoping a job may come up that day playing in an orchestra.

Cat thought no more of it and began the daily task of baking bread, washing, and cleaning the house.

It was a beautiful June day and feeling full of energy she decided to tidy the outhouse at the back and re-arrange things as the mangle was in an awkward place. She began pulling out all the contents and laying them in the yard and before putting everything back, washed the floor over and then finally heaved the mangle to a new position.

Glancing up at the ceiling in the outhouse, she saw a package wedged into the eaves so poked it with a broom until it fell to the floor.

She picked it up and squeezed it. It felt soft. Cat went inside, found some scissors, cut the string and unfolded the paper. Inside was a neatly folded evening suit. She shook out the garments and inspected them, wondering who they belonged to. It could not have been any previous occupant of the house because they were the first to live there. It was a mystery how it came to be there and she decided to show Louis when he came home.

That night when Louis returned from job-hunting, Cat put their evening meal on the table and they sat down to eat. She asked him if he'd had any luck, but he said he had not.

Cat dug her fork into a potato and looked at him.

‘So the musician's job didn't materialise after all?'

‘No. I'll try again tomorrow.'

‘What makes ye think there will be such a job tomorrow?'

‘I don't mean the musician's job. I will try for another. There's talk a factory on the other side of the water are looking for men so if I leave early, I may be luckier.'

‘Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me.'

When she had eaten her meal Cat put her knife and fork together on her plate to wait for Louis to finish, then she remembered the suit.

‘Oh by the way, I forgot to mention, I found a parcel in the outhouse today, pushed up into the eaves.'

‘Oh.' Louis said. He slid his plate aside and reached for his cigarettes.

‘Well don't ye want to know what was in it?

‘Not particularly.'

‘Well 'twas the crown jewels and I'm goin' to pawn them tomorrow and buy meself a fur coat.'

‘Oh.' His head bowed and he fiddled with his lighter unable to produce a flame.

‘
Louis
! For the love of God, show a bit of interest will ye?'

‘What do you want me to say?'

‘I don't believe this man,' she said exasperated, ‘I find a parcel in our outhouse, with a fine evening suit fit for a duke, and all ye can say is, Oh?'

‘Is that what it was?'

‘Yes indeed 'twas, but the mystery is how it got there.'

‘I've no idea Cat. How do you think it got there?'

‘Well that's what I'd like to find out.'

‘Why the fuss?'

‘Why the fuss? Well, if ye'd found it, not me, wouldn't ye want to know who it belonged to? After all I may be having a musician in the house while ye're out job-huntin'.'

‘Now Cat you're being ridiculous. Just as if that would happen.'

‘Funnier things have happened. Anyway, don't ye get off the subject!, D'ye have any idea how it got there?'

‘Perhaps Michael put it there when he lived here.'

‘Oh, I didn't think of that. But what would Michael be doin' with an evenin' suit?'

‘I don't know, why don't you ask him?'

‘How can I? He's in America.'

‘Write and ask him whether he stuffed an evening suit into the roof of our out-house.

‘Now ye're bein' ridiculous. Just as if I could go askin' him a thing like that. For sure if it was him and he hadn't told Ellie the reason behind stuffin' an evenin' suit out of sight, then maybe there's somethin' sinister behind it. No, I won't go writin' to him askin', it may upset them.'

She stood up, went to the bedroom, and then returned with the evening suit.

‘Look at it Louis, 'tis quite a good one isn't it? Try it on, g'w'on.'

‘Oh Cat, I couldn't.'

‘Why ever not?'

‘Because.'

‘What?'

‘It's not mine.'

‘'Tis now. C'mon, drop those pants and get these on and we'll see what a fine figure of a man ye cut in it.'

She wouldn't be deterred and began unbuttoning his jacket.

Feeling it would be better to get it over with, Louis stood and took his jacket off, then put the evening suit jacket on.

‘Now the pants.'

‘Oh come on Cat, this is stupid.'

‘'Tis not Louis. Just think of it. Say ye did manage to get a job playin' the violin, ye'd be already kitted out wouldn't ye? C'mon, get the pants on.'

Louis took off his trousers and pulled on the evening suit trousers.

‘Step out here then Louis, I can't see, the table's in the way.'

He stepped away from the table and Cat let out such a roar of laughter it woke Eileen.

‘Jesus, will ye take a look at the great impresario? Pants flyin' at half-mast.' Then she disappeared into the bedroom to quieten the baby. When she returned Louis had taken the evening suit off.

‘Where's it gone?'

‘I took it off.'

‘Why?'

‘You've had your bit of fun Cat, leave it at that.'

‘Alright. But I'll let down the trousers for ye, so if ye get called to play in the London Philharmonic, ye'll be ready.'

Cat got up and began clearing the table laughing to herself every so often; while Louis stared out of the window feeling an absolute heel.

Next day Louis left the house by half past five and was one of the first in the queue at the Labour Exchange. Sure enough six jobs were on offer to men willing to travel to a bicycle factory in Brentford. It was assembly work, and Louis was picked for one of the jobs.

It would mean cycling to Woolwich; through the tunnel, and then all the way to Brentford in Essex, but it was
work
he thought.

Louis was out of bed like a lark the following morning; and left well before Cat and the children awoke. His one thought as he pedalled off into the dawn was that he could put some decent food on the table, and a little bit of money into the tin above the mantelpiece for
going home
to Ireland.

At this rate, if he was lucky enough to keep the job, he thought they could go home to see her folks in about two month's time. It made pedalling that distance worthwhile.

Louis was home earlier than expected one Friday afternoon and caught Cat unawares. She hurried to clear away material and the sewing machine he had bought her recently.

Cat was delighted with the machine and had begun making good use of it. It gave her a renewed sense of purpose as she had already taken in some orders for making curtains, and a couple of little girls' dresses.

She straightened up the new tablecloth she had made and asked Louis what he thought of it. But without answering her, he dropped into a chair looking depressed.

‘What's up, ye look as though ye've lost a pound and found a penny.'

‘I lost my job.'

‘What?
Why
?'

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. ‘They asked us to take a drop in money.'

‘How much of a drop?'

‘A penny an hour. But when we wouldn't agree, the boss said he had a line of men waiting outside the factory that would. So that was that. We were all out.
Sacked
!'

Cat went to him and put an arm around his shoulders. ‘The bastards! God forgive me, but that's what they are, nothin' but bastards. They have ye exactly where they want ye. I hope to God they rot in hell. Ye're best out of it. The ride was too much for ye anyway.'

‘Cat, what are we going to do?'

‘Well one thing we're not goin' to do is sit here worryin'. It won't solve anythin'. Here now, get yer jacket off and bring in the bath, I've hot water ready for ye.'

He went to the outhouse and unhooked the tin bath then took it inside to the scullery. Cat filled it with hot water and added cold until it was ready for him.

‘C'mon now off with those cacks and into the bath with ye.'

Louis took his trousers and shirt off, then slid into the water. ‘I'm sorry, Cat. I
really
am.'

‘Ah get away with ye. We'll survive. We have before and we will again. Ye'll see. I've some orders in to make a few things, so I'll be earning a bit too.'

‘You shouldn't need to work, you've got enough to do.'

‘Why don't ye ask yer mother if ye can work in her shop?'

He didn't answer immediately, but began soaping himself all over and then rinsed it off.

Cat sat on a chair watching the water glisten on his body. Something stirred inside her, a mixture of desire, pity and love. He didn't deserve this humiliation.

‘I
would
ask her. But not unless I'm desperate, Cat. She has a way of making me feel I should work for her but not expect to be paid. I don't really want to be put in that position. In any case, I shouldn't think the shop could support paying Lize and me. No, I'll go back on the treadmill on Monday, looking for work. We'll see what turns up.'

He looked up at her and smiled and she dropped to her knees and kissed him as he sat in the tub, looking forlorn.

On Monday morning Louis left the house and had pedalled off on his bicycle before Cat could wave him off. She got Billy ready for a trip to the market in Woolwich where she planned to buy material for dresses she had agreed to make. Her neighbour had agreed to look after Eileen.

On the tram to Woolwich, Billy busied himself chanting nursery rhymes and Cat was free to concentrate on him alone for once. Today was going to be like a little outing, she told him, and if he was a really good boy she would buy him an ice cream from the nice Italian man in the market square.

When the tram turned into the square in Woolwich, Cat then stood up and held onto the overhead straps, craning her neck above the other passengers to see if it was raining. Satisfied that it wasn't she stepped down onto the running board. When it stopped, she caught hold of both Billy's hands and swung him off the tram, laughing as she did this.

‘Again, Mummy.'

‘No darlin', we can't keep at it all day, we've shoppin' to buy.'

They went along Powis Street and into a haberdashery shop where Cat bought material. Then they retraced their steps towards the market and she bought some meat in the butchers.

They were making their way towards the fruit and vegetables when Cat saw a small crowd had gathered and heard the sound of someone playing a violin. The music was wonderful and it reminded her of the time in Fethard when Louis had played Breda's violin outside Monroe one evening. In fact, she decided it sounded like the same Intermezzo he had played and her heart stirred with nostalgia.

She listened for a while, and then aware Billy was beginning to fidget, reluctantly decided to move on. Edging her way around the outside of the crowd, Cat glanced back to see who was playing so beautifully. What she saw through a gap between the people was none other than Louis!